Unit 3 • Vocabulary Words

Question 1

Determining whether an object or event is older or younger then other objects or events is called ____________.

Answer 1

relative dating

Example sentence: We are trying to determine is this dinosaur fossil is older then this one with the method of relative dating.

Question 1

____________ is the principle that states that younger rocks lie above older rocks if the layers have not been disturbed.

Answer 1

Superposition

Example sentence: These rocks are not yet distributed, this means that these rocks are in superposition.

Question 1

An _________ is a break in the geologic record that is made when rock layers are eroded or when sediment is not deposited for a long period of time.

Answer 1

unconformity

Example sentence:

Question 1

______ are the traces or remains of organisms that lived long ago, most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock.

Answer 1

Fossils

Question 1

A ______ _______ is an ordered arrangement of rock layers that is based on the relative ages of rocks, with the oldest rocks at the bottom of the column.

Answer 1

geologic column

Question 1

What slow processes could form a mountain valley?

Answer 1

The process of glacial erosion.

Question 2

How could a geologist best date a canyon, if it has, by the age of rock?

Answer 2

By relative dating.

Question 3

How would a geologist find the age of the oldest layer of rock in a lake bed?

Answer 3

By using superposition.